


Please don't break my heart

by Chainstobreak



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fantasy, I don't wanna spoil but basically they have to stop a mage from reviving the dead, Jisung is the awkward and sarcastic person that everyone needs in their life, M/M, Minho may seem like he doesn't care about people but he's actually a big softie™, Siren!Felix, clumsy!jisung, nymph!Jisung, witch!minho
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-16
Updated: 2020-01-15
Packaged: 2020-09-02 01:27:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20267776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chainstobreak/pseuds/Chainstobreak
Summary: As Jisung went through the drawers to find this damned book a smooth voice cut the silence.'Who are you and what the hell are you doing in my house?'He tensed up.'Oh shit.'And he ran.-Jisung lives with the excuse of a best friend in an apartment he can't afford with only one job so he steals magical artifacts to sell them.When he tries to break into Minho's  house he learns fast that he shouldn't have messed with him.In other words, Minho catches him and the two of them have to work this shit out together.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, I'm finally posting this because I just want to get it out there.  
Have fun reading!!!

It was way past midnight when a thin figure sneaked through the forest.  
  
Jisung had only just woken up from his two-hour nap and his brown hair was a disheveled mess. Although he was tired he found his way in the dark night and didn't even trip once, having walked this path more often than he could count.  
  
He still remembered the first time he had roamed through the wood in search of Thegi flowers. Those were lilac flowers used for brewing forgetfulness potions. Half an hour after entering the thicket he had been utterly lost in the dark and had only found his way out two hours later with the help of a will-o'-the-wisp he had bribed with a piece of chocolate. After that he had spent days in the forest getting to know all paths and short cuts there were.  
Most of the time he had been accompanied by the wisp. He had befriended it after it had followed him everywhere he had gone in hopes of another treat. He had decided to call it Jo.  
  
It had taken Jisung one year to know every path, every tree and every bush but now he could navigate blindly through the maze of tracks without even tripping. That was no exaggeration, he actually had to walk through the forest blindfolded once because of a bet.  
  
Tonight, the boy needed to collect fluorescent mushrooms. Fortunately, he knew exactly where to find them. While walking, he took in his surroundings, as always when coming here.  
  
The tall firs and spruces stood close together and filtered most of the silver moonlight. Only a few rays shone on the soft and mossy ground. The wind blew through the leaves and made them rustle quietly. It also caused Jisung to shiver in his thin jacket. It was only spring after all and therefore still a bit cold.  
  
In the distance a few birds chirped a lovely melody, singing each other to sleep. Jisung took a deep breath and could smell the keen scent of the trees and the sweetness of the flowers that were already blooming.  
  
Despite him always coming here this late he liked the environment a lot. It just felt like he could be himself and didn't have to hide any part of himself.  
Different than people, nature was accepting, didn't judge and forgave every time you did a mistake. Because of that it was hardly surprising that the young male loved this forest as much as his family and friends. It had even become something like another friend over the years spent here. Every time he got there he didn't ever want to leave.  
  
A small squeak caught his attention.  
  
Jisung came to a stop and looked around in search of the sound. A few meters next to him, there was a small mouse standing on a trunk on its hind legs. Its white fur was tousled and its narrow nose raised high in the air, black eyes glaring at him expectantly.  
  
Jisung smiled and bent down in front of the animal so he was eye to eye with it. It had been a long time since he had seen a wild animal in such close proximity.  
  
'Hello little guy. What do you want from me?', he asked.  
  
Unsurprisingly, it didn't answer. Instead it squeaked again, this time louder and moved its head in the direction of his jeans pocket. Its small pink nose twitched adorably as it sniffed.  
  
Jisung sat there for a moment, taken aback, before he started laughing.  
  
'You're quite the demanding one, aren't you?' He took a stick out of his pocket and showed it to the creature. It was a magical object that caused happiness when pulverizing and drinking it as tea.  
It was also an exceptionally good fertilizer. That was the reason he had it with him tonight.  
  
'Is this what you want?' The mouse took a few steps forward and made grabby motions towards the fertilizer. He found it very unlike an animal but took it as a yes nevertheless.  
  
He pocketed the stick again and said 'I wish I could give you that, but it's already reserved for another creature. Sorry, little one. But maybe I can give you something else instead.'  
  
He thought over it for a second and got an idea.  
  
'Don't mice like shiny things?'  
  
With that he rummaged in another pocket and, having found what he was looking for, held out his hand in front of the animal, a polished coin displayed.  
  
It eyed it suspiciously, making no move to take it.  
  
'Come on', he encouraged. 'You'll like it.'  
  
With that the mouse snatched it and hugged it tightly to its chest.  
  
Jisung smiled yet again. 'I'm glad you like it', he petted the mouse's soft fur, 'but your behavior is really human for an animal, you know that?'  
  
It didn't look like it cared a lot. It just squeaked one last time and disappeared behind a bush.  
  
'Goodbye you cute rascal, maybe we'll see each other again some time.'  
  
Jisung got up and sighed happily. The forest never failed to amaze him. Even if he thought he had already seen everything there would be always something new and surprising.  
  
He then moved on. After about ten minutes of quiet wlaking the male arrived at a clearing. The faint moonlight reached every corner of it and gave it a silver shine. The ground was covered in healthy grass and lovely flowers, moss and daisies adorning a big trunk in the middle of the clearing.  
  
Everything looked breathtakingly beautiful and perfect, from the cloudless sky to the flower petals swaying in the wind.  
  
But Jisung knew there was something missing.  
  
He stepped to where the shadows of the trees met the lights of the moon and knelt down. Again he took the stick out of his pocket to lay it before him and lowered his head.  
  
'Perion', he called. 'Please accept my offer!'  
  
For a few minutes nothing changed . The grass crinkled softly and the light illuminated Jisung's features in a cold, mysterious way. (He wasn't going to tell anyone but he liked that effect very much.)  
  
Then the wind died down and the birds stopped chirping.  
  
Muffled footsteps could be heard. They slowly approached him and grew louder with every passing second until they halted in front of him.  
  
The boy waited patiently, already knowing the process. Still, he couldn't help but feel anxious at the superior creature towering above him and their warm breath on his exposed neck.  
A big paw patted his head. Jisung thought of the quite similar situation he had been in earlier. Only then he had been the person patting the mouse while now he felt like the mouse receiving the patting.  
  
'_Welcome, child_ ', a dark but warm voice said. Although there was actually no sound made, the male could still understand the sentence clearly in his mind.  
  
The creature in front of him was a forest guardian. They took care of everything on and in it and carried a lot of wisdom. Jisung had gotten to know them half a year after he had started roaming the forest.  
He had stumbled across the clearing and embarrassed himself and the guardian when he thought they were just a normal animal and disrespected them.  
  
Fortunately, they were forgiving and didn't reproach the male for that incident.  
  
They gave his hair a light ruffle, then removed their paw and reached out for the fertilizer.  
  
This time though, something was different than all the other times before.  
  
Because Jisung had placed the stick directly in front of him it was still in his line of sight. He hadn't done it intentionally, but his curiosity had ultimately gotten the better of him.  
  
He could finally see a part of the forest spirit that he could never even partially look at before as he had to keep his head low at all times that they were present.  
  
Strangely enough their outstretched paw resembled that of a huge raccoon.  
  
The pads were long and without any fur on and between them. The sight caused Jisung to be quite disconcerted and bewildered.  
  
He knew he shouldn't be prejudiced but he had always thought of the spirit as a proud and illustrious creature. Could they, the chosen guardian of this forest and its inhabitants be just a big raccoon?  
  
Said creature now started laughing.  
  
'_Being mighty isn't always about looking mighty. You should know that of all people, young nymph._'  
  
Realizing that the guardian had looked into his mind, Jisung quickly bowed his head deeper in shame (and mild panic, he was kneeling in front of a powerful creature after all).  
  
'I apologize, Perion. I have no excuse for my behavior. I shouldn't have taken a look at you.'  
  
'_There is no need to feel sorry. You're only just growing up. You are allowed to learn from your actions and find out when they are wrong._' Perion chuckled.__  
  
'_Besides, I'm just surprised you only now tried to look at me after ten years of regularly visiting me._'  
  
They turned around and walked away before he could think of an appropriate answer.  
  
'_The next harvest will be plentiful_', they stated. Then they were gone.  
  
The atmosphere changed again. The birds resumed their chirping and the wind picked up, but the mysterious air remained.  
  
The nymph got up, mouthing a 'thank you'.  
  
This has by no means been the first time he had gotten in trouble with magical creatures, humans or even deities. In Misgrei, the city he was living in when he had only been a small child, he had been known as 'Jisung, the obnoxiously loud kid who can't keep his nose out of others people's business'.  
  
He had always been grateful that Perion had been understanding in all kinds of situations and wouldn't cast him out because of his differences.  
  
He guessed that was what made them such a good guardian.  
  
Pulling himself out of his thoughts, he looked and smiled at his surroundings.  
  
Where there had been only grass and flowers before the guardian had appeared, there were now growing the fluorescent mushrooms he needed to collect.  
  
Pulling out his knife he prayed to the gods and thanked them. Once more he knelt down and started to pick them.

_ _

_ _\-----_ _

_ _

__ 'Here they are', Jisung said and placed the mushrooms on his commissioner's desk. 'Cropped in the moonlight with a silver knife.'  
  
He was now standing in said commissioner's office and curiously looked around. Every time he came here, without fail, something changed, even if it was only a small thing.  
  
This time the shelves were stacked on top of each other so that they reached the ceiling. The desk was placed in the middle of the room while colorful posters covered the white walls.  
It looked a bit boring in his opinion but as this wasn't his office he decided to ignore it.  
  
However, his boss never changed. He always wore the same style of clothes. A black suit with a green tie, his hair styled neatly, a whiff of cologne. His face was almost void of any wrinkles, despite of his middle age.  
Today was no exception.  
  
'Marvelous'. he answered. 'The fertilizer worked as an offering, then?'  
  
'Yes, it was a very good, err...stick, Sir.'  
  
Excellent. I was worried because it was the first time using a fertilizer of a boboa tree.' He ran his fingers through his black hair. 'I know you did perfectly as always, so I will not control the product this time. The payment will be on your aacount by noon. We even have a new assignment if you're up to it. Payment will be relatively high, the client sounded like it was an important matter.'  
  
'What is it about?'  
  
'An old spell book they urgently need to have. Apparently it's one of the last existing books of the Tanria-coven and the key to the resurrection of the dead.'  
  
Jisung snorted disparagingly. 'What is dead should stay dead.'  
  
As nymph he actively held the opinion that it was against nature to resurrect things, even if it were only a small flower. If something died, then it was the will of nature and the gods.  
Therefore it shoudn't be brought back from the dead.  
  
Despite of his distaste he considered the offering. If he accomplished another job this week, then he wouldn't have to worry about rent and expenses for at least another three weeks.  
  
'But who am I to tell them what to do?', the boy concluded, screwing his morals in favor of money (as you do).  
  
'I'm in. Where can I get that book?'  
  
His boss hesitated. 'That's the difficult part. It currently has an owner.'  
  
'What?', Jisung asked surprised. 'But such items have to be passed over with the consent of the current owner! The spells in it wouldn't work if I stole it.'  
  
'I wondered at that, too, but they said they knew what to do to avoid that.'  
  
The man shrugged and handed Jisung an envelope.  
  
'The remaining information is in there. You have until next week, then the client wants to have it.'  
  
'Alright, I'll have it until then. Any items I need?'  
  
The commissioner stood up and walked to one of the shelves. It was filled with all kinds of magic objects like moving pictures and glowing brushes.  
(Honestly, the weirdest things were enchanted. Jisung had once even seen a flying bag of chips.)  
  
His boss took a stone that he gave to the other.  
  
'I almost forgot. This will help you with localizing the book. I have no idea how it works but I think it can sense the spells written in it. Something like that.'  
  
Jisung suspiciously eyed the green stone given to him. It was pyramid-shaped and had glyphs engraved in it that he didn't recognize. He shrugged and put it away.  
  
'Thanks. I'll bring it back when I finished the job. Well, then I'll head home.'  
  
He wanted to go to bed as fast as possible. He was so tired he could already feel his eyelids keeping shut longer and longer every time he blinked.  
  
As he walked to the door though, he got interrupted.  
  
Whelp, there went his sleep...  
  
'Jisung, wait', the commissioner called.  
  
He sounded unexpectedly serious. The former wearily entered the room again, confused at the abrupt change.  
  
'You said you harvested the mushrooms with a silver knife, right?'  
  
Jisung nodded slowly, not knowing where this conversation was going.  
  
'Yeah, that was the requirement.'  
  
'But I didn't give you one, I forgot to. Where do you have it from, then?'  
  
'Oh, it's my own knife.' The second he had said that he wanted to kick himself.  
  
'Your own? Correct me if I'm wrong, but it is extremely difficult to purchase or possess a silver knife as a human. Especially, since you're barely even legal. You are human, aren't you?', his superior questioned.  
  
He flinched imperceptibly. One shouldn't get him wrong, it wasn't a crime to be a mythical creature or even a nymph. The problem was that once people knew he was one they started to dig deeper and wanted to know if he was one of _them_.  
  
'Of course I'm human, that's what I told you when we first met, remember?'  
  
His boss nodded but still looked skeptical.  
  
Even though the nymph absolutely detested lying, in this case he had to in order to keep his true identity a secret. He knew of the greedy nature of humans and a lot of creatures. He just couldn't risk revealing it, especially to a dealer of magial artifacts. So he quickly tried to think of an easy to believe excuse.  
  
'It is an heirloom. My great grandmother apparently had been so beautiful that one of the nature spirits fell in love with her and gifted her that knife. She gave it to my grandmother, who gave it to my mother who gave it to me.'  
  
His counterpart blinked, mildly surprised.  
  
'Well, that sure is an interesting story. Maybe I should try the same as your great grandmother and make a spirit fall in love with me. Silver knifes are really hard to get a grip on as human.' He laughed at his own bad joke.  
  
Jisung winced. Sometimes he really asked himself how a human with such a dull personality could become a dealer of magical artifacts. He guessed it wasn't an important requirement to have a great sense of humor.  
  
'You can go home now, I just wanted to make sure you didn't steal something. Well, without me knowing of it I mean. Have a good night.'  
  
'Right. You, too.' The tired male released a huff of air, relieved that he could convice his boss. He hadn't been prepared for an interrogation that late at night at all. Or that early in the morning, for that matter.  
  
He then left the room with heavy steps to head home and finally get a few hours of sleep. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I'm back! This chapter is kind of a filler, but you'll need it to understand the dynamics of the world in which the characters are living.  
Also I've wondered if I should write short chapters that explain the rules or species of this world just so it isn't that confusing. If you've got any thoughts on that, you can share them in the comments :)

When Jisung ultimately reached his apartment he felt as if he needed to hibernate to ever recover from this trip.  
  
Unfortunately, as much as he cherished his sleep and didn't like staying up late, he had to most of nights in order to work and earn money. As partly nymph he drew energy mainly from natural light sources such as sun and moonlight. He didn't necessarily need nourishment, although he liked the occasional snack to boost his energy. But being outside at night for a long time even with the moon shining upon him drained him. In order to be able to pay the rent he had to endure and catch up on his missed sleep in the afternoon when he was free.  
  
He opened the door and tried to sneak in as quietly as possible as to not wake anyone. As usual his clumsy self tripped over glass bottles standing next to the threshold though. He remembered wanting to throw them away a week ago already. Needless to say, he often forgot to do the chores.  
  
A loud clatter could be heard as the bottles toppled over, followed shortly by a dull thud and silent groan. It almost sounded as if a person had fallen off the couch in the middle of the room.  
  
'Felix, buddy, is that you?' Jisung asked and flicked the lights on.  
  
It had indeed been Felix who had fallen off the piece of furniture. It was unclear to Jisung what he had been even doing there in the first place.  
  
'What are you doing in the living room at this hour?'  
  
The former now slowly stood up and settled on the couch again, eyes narrow because of the bright lights.  
  
'I was waiting for you, obviously', came the reply. 'Although I must admit', he stifled a yawn and rubbed his eyes, 'I fell asleep at around two AM.'  
  
Jisung heaved a deep sigh and sat next to the other boy. The close proximity made it possible for him to feel the youngers sleepiness and joy of seeing him, causing him to be happy himself. He could feel concern as well, getting him an idea as to why Felix had spent most of the night on the couch.  
  
'How often do I have to tell you that you don't need to stay awake until I'm back home? It's not like I'm gonna get myself killed while picking plants.'  
  
Jisung knew he was exaggerating but this wasn't the first time they had this conversation. He wanted it to be over soon. Knowing his best friend, he would either be successful when appealing to his sense of sympathy or fail because of the others stubborness.  
  
'But you never know, do you?', the obstinate reply destroyed the nymph's hopes of this coming to an end fast.  
  
'There are all kinds of weirdos out and about at this time of the night. Including you.' Felix ignored Jisung's offended 'hey' and continued. 'I have to keep an eye on you because you can't take care of yourself, apparently.'  
  
Jisung looked scandalized at him and opened his mouth to protest. Then he thought better of it and just said 'Yeah I'm not gonna deny that, you're right. But still, just because I'm losing sleep, you don't have to as well.'  
  
But I want to. I want to make sure you're okay and safe. You know that's pretty much the only thing I can do considering the labor laws.'  
  
Jisung winced, he had hoped the other wouldn't bring it up.  
  
He was right though, he couldn't do much. According to the labor laws, sirens -which was Felix' species- weren't allowed to work.  
  
Their ability to enchant anyone and make them do anything they wanted them to do earned them a bad reputation, as well as countless stories about sirens pulling fishermen into the depths of the sea out of blood thirst did. People (mostly humans) were afraid of them and their voices and drove them out of the city by not letting them work.  
  
'That', the nymph pointed at his friend, 'is a low blow.'  
  
The latter shrugged. 'I just want you to understand.' Felix really wanted to make his point clear and show how sorry he felt and how worried he was for him whenever Jisung only came home early in the morning after no news of him for hours.  
  
As he saw Jisung's slumped posture and tired eyes though, he gave up. At least for tonight he didn't want to fight and therefore simply put an arm on the others shoulder.  
  
'Come on, let's talk about this some other time, you must be hungry and exhausted.'  
  
The boy grinned slightly and accepted the unspoken apology.  
  
'Good idea man. Talking about food, do we have leftovers? I really am starving.'  
  
He left the living room and entered the kitchen to search for food, Felix followed closely.  
  
'No we don't, I ate all of it. Sorry. But you can eat bread, we still have a few pieces left. You could put butter on it.'  
  
The other shrugged. 'Good enough', and started looking for the loaf of bread.  
  
While he prepared his late night snack Felix jumped up on the kitchen counter, watching him.  
  
'Tell me about your assignment', he demanded. 'Yesterday you said something about mushrooms?'  
  
'I'm glad you ask', the older spread butter with a kitchen knife on the bread with a bit of newfound energy, the thought of being able to tell about his day exciting him.  
  
'I had to harvest Proelas, fluorescent mushrooms.' He licked the knife (and fortunately didn't cut his tongue, that would have been real dumb) and put it in the sink. 'I'm gonna clean this up later, by the way', he meant.  
  
The other rolled his eyes. 'Sure you will', he commented. 'But what happened there? What took you so long this time?'  
  
Jisung munched on his now finished meal.  
  
'Well at first I met a mouse that wanted to have the offering for the forest guardian. It was a cute little fella. Really fluffy and small. I didn't see Jo though. Come to think of it, I haven't seen her in a while, maybe I shoud start looking for her. Anyways, after that... Uhm, how can I phrase that?'  
  
Felix huffed, already expecting what was coming next. 'You got into trouble again, didn't you?'  
  
'I wouldn't put it _that_ way. Theoretically I maybe might have looked partially at said forest guardian while he took the offering?'  
  
The younger groaned. 'Seriously? Mate, that's the first thing you learn in a magical world. 'Don't do things that are forbidden by magical creatures that are mightier than you, because you never know what they will do to you'. God, where were you even when they told that stuff in Magical Education?'  
  
'Maybe that was that one lesson I skipped to sunbathe', Jisung considered.  
  
At the look of exasperation on Felix' face he added 'Hey, don't judge me, that was a hundred years ago. You know that was the time teenage forest spirits thought they didn't need education and skipped all the time. Compared to them I was basically a nerd. Besides, the forest guardian didn't take it the wrong way. They were even really understanding about it.'  
  
'Do you understand now why I worry about you? Every time you run off to somewhere you get into trouble. You're lucky you haven't met people who take offense at your actions and take vengeance.'  
  
'Yeah, yeah, okay, I understand.' He smiled agonised. 'But let's move on to more pleasant topics.'  
  
By that time he had finished his sandwich and started rummaging in one of his (way too) many pockets (cargo pants were amazing). Eventually he pulled out a small bundle that he put on the dining table.  
  
'I got you something. Go on, open it, it doesn't bite. Well, at least it shouldn't.'  
  
Felix looked uncertain. He didn't trust Jisung's surprises one bit as he was often the victim of his dumb pranks. He still had a small scar on his rigth thumb of the time one of Jisung's gifts decided its fangs looked way better in his hand than in its own mouth.  
  
He opened it nevertheless. He was curious by nature (although this was definitely one of the moments he wished he wasn't).  
  
'Oh, those are the Proelas you talked about?'  
  
Jisung nodded. 'You can use them for potions but you can also just eat them as they're really sweet. I thought I'd get you some because you like sweet stuff that much.'  
  
'Man, Jisung, that's great, thank you, really.' He smiled brightly and hugged the other.  
  
'No problem. You might want to use them sparingly though. Shamans used to eat them to trigger epiphanies and things like that. They can be pretty intense if you're eating too many of them.'  
  
Felix loosened the hug and looked at the older incredulously. 'So, what you're saying is... You gave me drugs.'  
  
'Kind of, yeah. But hey, they are really good. I tried them myself forty years ago' Jisung rambled on. 'They work on your species, too, despite the immunity of you sirens against almost everything. And they are legal and have no side effects whatsoever.'  
  
The younger abruptly turned around, looking absolutely done and walked to his room without looking at or wishing Jisung a good night. The nymph could only hear him murmur something like 'it's too early for this shit' before the door slammed shut.  
  
He shrugged. 'Well then', he said. 'More for me.'  
  
(In the end, he didn't clean the knife.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I've got one pre-written chapter left which I will post next week, after that I don't know when I can post again but I am still on break so I have lots of time to write.  
Please share your thougths on the chapters in the comments if you like to, I'm curious as to what stuff you guys like, so I can maybe add it in future chapters.


	3. Sirens

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a bit of background information about sirens. Enjoy!

Sirens were the second supernatural species discovered by humans. Before that there were legends and rumors about them. They were never confirmed because of their ability to enchant people and other beings and make them forget about encounters.  
  
They are omnivores like humans, against common belief they usually don't kill and never eat people though.  
  
There are very few cases of killed humans, all of which were accounted for as self-defense.  
  
Sirens use their chanting on their prey. They use it on humans as well to lure them in and spend time with them as they are just as curious about the other species as humans are.  
  
Once the sirens were discovered they were hunted because of the people they allegedly killed and the belief that one could gain oil from their bodies that was worth more than that of whales.  
  
As a reaction the number of humans killed in self-defense rose.  
  
A truce on both sides finally ended the violence and allowed them to stay above the water surface.  
  
Sirens are able to change from their siren form into a human form and back.  
  
As the siren form is their natural one they cannot stay in the human form indefinitely and need to change back once a month, normally during full moon. They are also forced into their natural form when met with large masses of water, for example rain, during showers or in a lake.  
  
Sirens can enchant any being that isn't immune or has the ability to enchant as well. Beings immune to the sirens' chants are for example vampires, ghosts or other sirens.  
  
It is commonly believed that since sirens are ethereal creatures they lure humans in with the promise of sexual actions. However, they actullay lure beings in with the promise of whatever they want most, as this is a more precise technique.  
  
Their chant can not only lure them in but also make them do whatever the siren wants them to do.  
  
This is also one of the reasons they are still feared by humans. Laws forbid them to use their chants on any other being. If they get caught they are fined and need to leave the city if not the surface. They are also not allowed to get paid for work or jobs out of fear of manipulation.


	4. Chapter 4

Jisung stood in front of the house the spell book he had to steal was hidden at.

He was observing like he had done the last few evenings. He knew he didn‘t have a lot of time to get his hands on it, but he wanted to make sure he wouldn‘t be facing something he couldn't deal with.

The nondescript house looked more like a cottage. The high brown walls covered in cracks, vines and moss, a rather flat roof and a small chimney. It was located in a more quiet and run-down part of the city. He hadn‘t expected that of a house that contained such an important book and therefore should be more secure.

As much as Jisung had stared at this house the past days, he hadn‘t seen the slightest sign that there was a person living in it.

Despite it being chilly, there had never been smoke coming out of the chimney. There was no movement behind the windows that were covered by curtains and at night there were no lights turned on.

Hence, he didn‘t think that the cottage was inhabited right now. Maybe the owner had moved out for a while. Jisung just hoped the spell book wasn‘t gone as well, that would make his job incredibly harder.

There hadn‘t been a lot of information about the owner themself written in the letter the commissioner had given him. In fact, it hadn‘t informed a lot about the job in general.

There had just been the address of the house, a sketch of the book and what it contained as well as the due date.

There hadn‘t been any information about the age of the owner, their gender or even their species, there had been nothing at all!

This made Jisung nervous and fidgety. He didn‘t like being left in the dark. But there wasn‘t anything he could do about it except from observing everything and praying things wouldn‘t go south. (He wouldn‘t be surprised if he ended up dead in a ditch because of this job, though.)

When he had told Felix about this next mission, the latter had voiced his concerns, not wanting him to do it. In the end, he could convince him by arguing that he had stolen artifacts before. Showing him the reward he was going to get of course also played a big part in his convincing methods.

He hadn‘t mentioned that this was the first time stealing something that actually still belonged to someone. He estimated that was an information he better kept from the other.

When a car drove by, Jisung decided it was time to make a move. Reaching the front door he started picking the lock and silently thanked the gods for Merlot. He was a nymph he had met while moving away from his hometown and who had taught him tons of mischievous- and probably illegal- stuff. (Okay, it had most definitely been illegal stuff.) Without him he would have been lost in the city that was so different from his town.

The lock clicked.

Jisung moved to open the door but stopped for a moment.

He had a terrible feeling about this, everything seemed so suspicious. An important spell book with no signs of or information about the owner that could help him finish the job unscathed.

It wasn‘t too late, he could still go home. He could tell Felix and his boss that it had been too dangerous for him. Both of them would understand. Well, at least Felix would, he wasn‘t actually sure about the commissioner.

But Jisung knew he couldn‘t opt out now. Both him and Felix were broke as hell, they needed that reward.

He shook his head. He _had_ to do this.

With a sigh he patted his pocket to check if he had taken the stone with him (of course he had, he had already checked ten times before even leaving the apartment). Then he crossed the threshold and closed the door with shaky hands.

As soon as the door was shut, darkness- and surprisingly heat- engulfed the room in which Jisung was now standing. The heat was weird considering that there had been no smoke coming out of the chimney, but maybe there were heaters in the cottage. At the same time the door was closed the stone vibrated once, effectively startling the nymph.

As he took out the artifact he saw the hieroglyphs on it faintly glowing in a greenish color.

Deciding that if it had already started lighting up the room by a small bit, he could as well use the pyramid to find his way and save the batteries of his flashlight. Yes, he was practical like that.

Now Jisung could see that he was standing in a large hallway. At first he thought it had no doors until he reached the far end of it to see a wooden door disguised by wood panels identical to those on the wall.

In the second room he caught a faint whiff of sandalwood. It was said to keep evil beings away and was common in most houses since the discovering of the supernatural. Jisung had always found it amusing, because most people just left it at that and expected it to ward off every bad thing like a panacea.

Sure, it helped, but one simple joss stick wasn‘t going to cut it, one needed certain spells to really keep those evil beings away.

What wasn‘t amusing him as much was the fact that in this case he was the evil-doer because he wanted to steal the book. Therefore, the sandalwood did make him feel even uneasier and made him want to turn around and leave at once.

But he hadn‘t broken in and broken the law just to leave now.

Jisung observed the room in which he was standing now. It seemed to be a living room, according to the outlines the stone made visible. It was actually more convenient than he had thought in the beginning. The light was neither too dark to not see anything nor too bright to be visible from the outside and give him unwanted attention. It illuminated almost everything in his close proximity.

However, there was this damned small coffee table that the light couldn‘t reach.

Which obviously meant that the instantly stumbled over it and stubbed his toe.

His big toe. His dumb big toe that he always stubbed when running into something.

God, he was so tired of being alive.

Jisung rubbed his toe through his shoe and suppressed a few curses in favor of staying undetected.

Sometimes he really hated being clumsy. All the nymphs he had met have been graceful and never even tripped. And then there was him, crashing into something every ten minutes. It just painfully showed the difference between him and other nymphs.

Hell, he wasn‘t even a normal nymph.

His kind was a mixture of tree creatures and one of the most hated supernatural species to exist. Which made his kind hated just as much.

_What a great species I am_, he thought.

But Jisung didn‘t have the time to indulge in his negative feelings, he had a job to do after all.

Getting a grip, he looked around to work out where he had to go next.

There were two doors on opposite sides of the room. A quick check revealed that one of them lead to a kitchen and the other into a second hallway. The light of the stone shone brighter in the hallway, making the choosing of the direction easy.

Compared to the small exterior of the cottage the interior was insanely big. He was already walking for ten minutes and didn‘t know if he would reach the right room any time soon.  
It was also getting warmer the longer he walked and sweat began running down his neck.

And honestly, what kind of cottage had two large hallways? That didn‘t make any sense. Then again, nothing about this job did, so Jisung really shouldn‘t be surprised.

Still, he was glad when he finally reached a door. 

In front of it stood two cat sculptures that had a menacing air about them, even though they were just sitting there harmlessly. The statues were bigger than the average cat and made out of marble, the features well-carved and in the face area especially prominent. Although they were probably meant as guardian statues and therefore should be threatening he found the cats were very cute .

Out of courtesy he bent down and scratched their ears.

Especially in a world where supernatural species existed it was always better to be safe and show respect to beings or things you didn‘t know.

And if you were a nymph called Jisung it was even better to show respect because bad luck tended to follow him like thunder followed lightning, constantly and inevitably.

When the cats didn‘t move and the stone shone brighter he took it as good omen and opened the door.

Almost immediately the sandalwood scent intensified and made him flinch and fight the urge to run away. It burned in Jisung‘s nose uncomfortably, forcing him to hold back a sneeze.

This room actually looked promising. Man was he overjoyed to see that.

The ground was completely covered in a light colored carpet that sank in under his weight. In contrast stood the dark wall decorated by big artifacts. Jisung could make out a dreamcatcher and a spear right next to him.

One large bookshelf in the far end of the room displayed a mass of books and scrolls. All of them looked relatively old and well-used, dust collecting on most of them. They were those kind of books that collectors would pay thousands of dollars for.

Stepping closer he looked at a few. He could read some titles, others were in foreign and probably ancient languages.

Next to encyclopedias about herbs and flowers there were also books about love potions or physique altering spells.

‘_Changing ones aura, luck and fate_‘, he read one of the titles out loud. Well, that sure was interesting. How unfortunate that he couldn‘t just take it with him because of the whole owner thing.

On the two bordering walls there was one chest of drawers each. By the general look of the room they probably contained artifacts or herbs. The room itself gave off a kind of ancient and powerful vibe. That was hardly shocking considering all the supernatural objects gathered in there.

Surprisingly enough the book he needed wasn‘t in the bookshelf but in the chest on his left side, according to the stone. He wasn‘t one to tell this person how to organize their room though, so whatever.

Then he searched. And he searched.

And...he searched.

He searched for the book in the chest to no avail.

‘This doesn‘t make any _sense_‘, Jisung muttered. Why did nothing in here make sense? First the impossibly big cottage, then the heat and now this? This was crazy.

But he couldn't just leave empty-handed.

So he searched again and again. The pyramid said it was there so it had to be there.

He knew he shouldn‘t trust an artifact (sometimes they had a mind of their own) but what other choice did he have?

As Jisung went through the drawers to find this damned book a smooth voice cut the silence.

‘Who are you and what the hell are you doing in my house?‘

He tensed up.

‘Oh shit.‘

And he ran.


	5. Nymphs

_Nymphs belong to the species of spirits and can be also labeled as water or earth spirits.  
There are numerous subcategories of nymphs, for example dryads, the tree nymphs or nereids, the sea nymphs._

_They are connected to an element of nature - also known as counterpart - like a tree or a spring. As long as one is healthy, the other is as well. The age of nymphs normally amounts to several hundred years._

_Spirits usually don't come to the city and mainly live surrounded by nature in order to be as close to their counterpart as possible. These living spots are protected areas to ensure that the counterparts and therefore the nymphs aren't damaged by humans. Possible damage could be deforestation or the redirection of rivers._

_Nymphs like to keep to themselves and are unlikely to interact with species that aren't located in their living spots._

_Because of their special connection to nature they are able to sense the health condition and emotional state other beings are in.  
Since nymphs are peaceful they don't possess any offensive powers._

_This is also the reason they are widely accepted in the human and supernatural world. Other beings don't see them as a threat and mostly treat them like equals._

_The human government has passed laws that protect nymphs from human damage. This was necessary due to some humans enjoying to hunt, enslave or murder supernatural beings when masses of them were first discovered._

_The murdering and enslaving of supernatural beings is now mostly illegal and punished with a sentence of six years in prison._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know if I'll be able to post next Friday because school started and I'm pretty busy again. Just fyi.
> 
> I hope you liked the background information on nymphs, see you soon!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so so sorry it took me so long to post!  
School started a few weeks ago and I didn't have a lot of time to write, especially since this chapter has a lot of dialog and scenes I didn't know how to describe it took longer than expected.  
Anyways, here it is, I hope you guys will like it!
> 
> As always, if there's anything you want to point out regarding what I could do better next time, what I did well, what you think about the chapter or any questions feel free to share them in the comments. I'm always happy to get feedback!

And he ran. 

Well, at least he tried to. It didn‘t work. Because there was definitely a person in this room and they were definitely blocking the only door out. 

Their presence created an unsettling feeling that he couldn‘t quite place. Not that it was of much importance right now. 

That was bad. Really bad. How did that person get into that room without him noticing? And how had they known that he had broken in in the first place? 

The nymph felt his breath pick up and his fear skyrocketing. 

Had he already been that shaky when he entered the house? Had he done something wrong that had alerted this person of his presence? 

He really hoped it hadn‘t been a magical trap. He couldn‘t have Felix lecture him on magical traps. Not _again_. 

God, what if he never saw Felix again? What if he died in here because he hadn‘t been cautious enough? Who was going to take care of Felix? They didn‘t have anyone in the city except themselves. 

He shook himself out of his thoughts. 

There was no time to panic. He needed to get out of here. 

Jisung looked at the person. He couldn‘t make out any details because it was still too dark but he could see that they were about as tall and broad as him. 

Which was neither very tall nor broad. 

That meant he had two options now. Fight or flight. 

Flight was obviously the better option. He had never fought a day in his life and he wasn't idiotic enough to believe he could win a fight with zero experience. 

So he prayed that his not-really-plan would work, leaped forward and pushed the figure out of the way to get into the hallway. 

As he ran he could feel cold seeping into his hand with which he touched the person. Their low temperature was weird considering that the rest of the house was basically a sauna but he honestly couldn't care less right now. 

On his way out Jisung also noticed that the cat statues were gone now. That was so gonna bite him in the ass later. 

He didn't hear anyone following him. Where they even following him or had they given up? No, he heard a whispering sound. They were definitely behind him. 

He almost stumbled over the coffee table again. That stupid thing was really cursed. 

He reached the streets and stopped to turn around to see if they were there. They weren't. Where the hell were they? He had heard them follow him. 

Jisung's knees were shaking and he was already panting. The anxiety and adrenaline really did a number on him. 

But it didn't matter. He couldn't stop now. He needed to move on. 

He ran again. There were less and less houses the longer he raced along the street. He still felt as if they could crush him any moment. 

Where could he go? Definitely not their apartment. If that person found out where he lived he was really screwed. 

In the distance he saw the park. He had already checked it out during his observation of the cottage. It had a lot of trees and bushes. It was perfect to get rid of them! 

Jisung could hide in a tree or something until he was sure they weren't after him anymore. He wasn't a nymph for nothing, he could blend in well with nature. 

With new hopes of an escape he surged forward to reach the park, the wind whipping around his form. 

He still didn't hear any sounds of anyone following him. He just hoped that they had given up, but he needed to hide nevertheless. He wouldn't risk his or Felix' life over some dumb job. 

Tall bushes started sprouting out of the ground, the asphalt merged into an earthy track. 

He was there, thank god! 

Within a few seconds Jisung reached a group of trees. He looked around again to see if the other had reached the park already as well. But there was no one in sight so he just jumped on the tree that was best hidden by the surrounding trees. 

He settled on a thick branch that he thought was high enough up and ducked behind the leaves. A long time there was no sound except the rustling of the leaves. Once more this evening Jisung felt the cold seep into his bones, making it hard to grip the tree with his clammy hands. The chilly air that he drew in too quickly hurt in his lungs. 

After a few minutes Jisung had finally calmed down enough to assess the situation he was stuck in. 

He had high chances of actually escaping seeing as the other person hadn't found him yet. He was well hidden up high because hardly anyone ever looked up. 

He would wait about a quarter hour, then leave the park and the neighborhood. He couldn't go straight home in case there indeed was someone that chased him. So he would walk about half an hour until he got rid of potential followers. 

That sounded like a foolproof plan. A plan even he couldn‘t mess up. 

The only difficulty was that the boy had no idea how to leave the tree. It was always easier to climb up than down and in his haste to escape he hadn‘t paid attention to this possible problem. 

He actually knew what he was talking about. Back in the day, when he was a child he had liked to climb every wall and tree in sight. And because of his signature clumsiness he often fell down and seriously hurt himself on more than just one occasion. It had been scarring enough to know that the height of this tree should not be underestimated. 

He couldn‘t just jump, it was way too high. He would definitely break some limbs, if not worse. Jumping to another tree to have better chances of climbing down didn‘t work either because from his branch he couldn‘t see if the other trees were actually the better option. 

No, he had to get down the exact same way he got up. 

Jisung rubbed his hands together to warm them and hissed when he noticed cuts on them from gripping the tree bark so tightly. 

He scooted closer to the trunk to find a good place to start descending. 

Problem was, near the trunk there was a cat sitting and snarling at him with glinting teeth. 

‘Goodness fuck!‘, he shrieked. 

...It was a very manly shriek if anyone was wondering. 

He recoiled because wow, this cat definitely hadn‘t been there a second ago. 

And of fricking course he lost his balance and slipped because that‘s what happens when you‘re a clumsy idiot. 

Already falling down he tried to get ahold of the branch but couldn‘t keep a strong grip due to the clamminess of his hands. 

Honestly he was _so_ not surprised that he messed up the foolproof plan. It was just like him. 

At least now he didn‘t have to worry about getting down anymore. He just had to hope not to be too badly injured so he could get home. 

Falling was actually quite nice, Jisung found before abruptly crashing to the ground. 

The boy groaned, all air pressed out of his lungs and his back hurting like a bitch. But all in all he was fine. It was a miracle he hadn‘t broken anything despite the height. 

He would have thought about that more intensely if it hadn‘t been for someone saying ‘found you‘ in the most smug voice he had ever heard in his whole life. 

_Oh how great_, he thought, recognizing the smooth voice from before with ease, _that son of a gun really got me_.

Jisung looked up and saw them towering directly above him. He scrambled up because he really didn‘t want to stay on the cold ground below them for longer than necessary.

He caught the heavy scent of sandalwood again and could only with difficulty suppress another sneeze.

He wondered how his counterpart didn‘t have constant sneezing fits with that smell around him all the time.

They both stood in the shadows of the trees so he still couldn‘t see the others face. It made him uncomfortable not knowing who was in front of him, but at least they couldn‘t see him well either.

He straightened up, not wanting to show any fear. Don‘t get him wrong, he was terrified, but no way in hell was he gonna give them the advantage of knowing what he was feeling.

‘How the heck did you even find me?‘, he asked, looking straight to where he thought their eyes were.

‘Look up‘, they said.

Jisung was suspicious of turning his eyes away from them in case they wanted to attack them. The witch already had him cornered though and it was not like he could defend himself anyway. So he did as they told to see what they meant.

There, on the lowest branch sat the cat, staring back with yellow eyes and a low grumble in its chest. It jumped down gracefully to join the other.

Jisung furrowed his brows in confusion. ‘A cat? So what?‘

A grin appeared on the witch‘s face. ‘Almost. A familiar.‘

Jisung flinched.

Oh no. Oh no no no.

‘That can‘t be‘, he whispered in shock. ‘You‘re a witch? But witches are almost extinct!‘

‘Well, consider yourself lucky then. You‘re one of the few people in this century that got the chance to see a real witch.‘

They seemed satisfied by his reaction. As if anyone would react differently than Jisung did. Jisung‘s legs twitched, the adrenaline making him skittish. He wanted to run so badly, but it wouldn‘t have been of any use. From what he heard of witches they were about as powerful as a mortal being could get. They would catch him with ease and probably be even madder at him than they were already. 

His follower stepped closer and pulled something out of a pocket. In response Jisung moved backwards. If his counterpart really was a witch then he didn‘t want to be in their throwing range. 

The thing they pulled out was a stone. It lit up at the moment it was touched and cast a glistening white light across their two forms. 

After getting used to the brightness he could finally see the other person. It was a young man - that didn‘t say a lot, after all Jisung himself looked like twenty even though he was over a hundred years old - with black hair and eyes of the same color. His skin looked sickly pale, but that could have also been the light. 

He was ridiculously handsome although he would never ever admit that in this situation. Or maybe he would, that totally depended on if that would get him out of this alive. 

‘Well, are you gonna tell me what you were doing in my house or are we just gonna stand here like idiots?‘ 

The nymph winced. He had totally forgotten that he was being interrogated. The whole thing was frightening enough already without all of the ‘I broke in your house‘-situation. 

The unsettling feeling from before came up again. 

Now that Jisung actively paid attention to it he noticed that he couldn‘t feel the other‘s emotions at all. 

That was very peculiar. Normally he always felt something around other people, even if it was only a small spark. 

Come to think of it, he hadn‘t felt anything near the familiar and the probably inhabited cat statues either. 

This had to be what caused the weird feeling, he was not used to only feeling his own emotions. 

‘So?‘, the other demanded. 

Dude was notably pushy. If Jisung wasn‘t frightened to death he would surely be annoyed as hell. 

He couldn‘t just go around telling on his boss and customer. There was a strict codex that he had to follow if he didn‘t want to get himself or his loved people hurt or even killed. 

Alright, he needed to be bold, let him know he couldn‘t scare him into submission. 

‘I don‘t know what you‘re talking about.‘. He put on his best ‘I‘m innocent‘ face. 

‘So what, you‘re telling me you weren‘t snooping around in my library just a few minutes ago?‘ The witch scoffed. ‘I‘m not buying it.‘ 

‘You didn‘t see that it was me in your library, now did you? It could have been someone completely different.‘ 

Jisung stepped a bit to the side to test if he could maybe just run away. When the cat growled louder and followed him he decided it was best to not try it, though. 

In the meantime the witch hadn‘t moved one bit. 

He shook his head, a cocky smile displayed. ‘But how would you know that I couldn‘t see what you looked like when it wasn‘t you?‘ 

Whelp, he got caught. Denial was _not_ his strength. 

‘Also, Dori picked up your scent, so it‘s of no use to lie‘, the witch pointed at his familiar. It was still glowering at him with its teeth showing. The only reason he wasn‘t scared shitless was that it was pretty small for a cat and looked more like a plushie than a living being. 

He needed to try something different. Maybe distracting would work. As a person generally seen as annoying that's what he was good at. 

'Man, you called your familiar Dori? It looks like it wants to claw my throat out, it should be at least a, I don't know, Slasher or Ripper.'

Oh, would you look at that, it actually worked. 

He pinched his eyes together and he took another step forward. 

Jisung stood still. _Don't show your fear, don't show your fear, don't show..._

'What's that supposed to mean? The name Dori is perfect for her. Don't insult her with such basic familiar names.'

Now the nymph was bewildered. He even almost forgot that he was probably gonna get killed because he made the witch mad. 

'Wait wait wait, hold up, witches usually call their familiars something like Slasher or Ripper?' He let out an unbelieving laugh. 'Damn, that is some good tea.' He was so gonna tell Felix about this. 

The witch questioningly tilted his head to one side. 

'Why the hell would that be tea? Names are not beverages.' He thought about it for a moment. 'Oh. I see. You're trying to change the topic, aren't you?'

Okay nevermind, it didn't work that well. And here he had thought distraction was his best quality. 

'I'm starting to think that you don't know a lot about witches, considering the fact that you're not yet cowering in fear. You are aware that I could curse you with one word before you'd even realise?'

'You do have a point, but you don't know one thing: I don't care about getting cursed.'

That wasn't exactly right but he didn't have to know that. As long as he could avoid getting cursed then he would do so. But he would choose it anytime over snitching and endangering his friend's safety. 

‘You‘re forgetting something, too.‘ Now it was his turn to step forward. If the other threatened him then he would the same. 

Not that the witch looked intimated but it had been worth the shot. ‘Witches are illegal, I could easily call the police on you. They would probably take you prisoner and at best only interrogate the hell out of you. And you couldn‘t prevent me from calling them. The only way you could hurt me right now is by cursing me and that curse would at least take several hours to come into effect.‘ 

The witch‘s lips twitched, it looked like the argument was amusing him. 

The nymph was totally in the dark as to why. He had the upper hand right now, he should be the one being amused. 

‘Okay, that may be true, but I could also just put a death curse on you.‘ 

‘You can‘t. Only witches of the Tanria coven could put death curses on others, and they have been extinct for more than a hundred years.‘ 

The same smile was still on his face but his eyes turned a shade darker. 

‘Oh, they are? Then watch this‘, he pulled down the neck of his shirt to reveal a tattoo of three jet-black daggers blemishing the otherwise pale skin on the base of his neck. 

Jisung froze. ‘Impossible‘, he whispered. 

He was. So. _Fucked_. 

Now he understood why the other had looked like he was literally having the time of his life. 

Normal witches were already dangerous as hell, but a witch from the Tanria coven? He could kill him in more ways than he could imagine. 

The smug smile remained on their face. It was most likely going to stay there for the rest of the night, too. 

'I see I'm having your attention now. Are you willing to tell me the truth?'

He couldn't snitch, he couldn't endanger Felix. 

Looking the other directly into those dark eyes he said 'I'm not the one you're looking for.'

The witch raised an eyebrow, kind of looking amused and disappointed at the same time. 

'You really do want to die, don't you?'

Jisung shook his head. 'You can't just kill me. There would be tons of magical tracks caused by the death curse. The police would start digging and find out there is a witch living in this area. And then they would search for you nonstop and try to bring you down for killing someone.'

'I see.'

The boy thought at this point the other had to be angry but he still smirked slightly. 

God, was he ever going to show a serious expression? It was starting to seriously get on his nerves. If Jisung was not the one getting killed tonight, then - magical powers beyond compare or not - it was gonna be the witch. 

'We're in quite a predicament here, with all the threatening.' The nymph noticed the witch's voice got rougher the longer he spoke but didn't pay any special attention to it. After all it could be a simple cold from the autumnal weather. 

'But I got one more ace up my sleeve.'

He closed the distance again and Jisung stepped back, hitting the tree trunk with his back. He huffed, because ouch. 

Honestly, he'd already had several almost-heart attacks with all the revelations of the night, he hoped this wouldn't send him into an aneurysm. 

‘What would you do if I spread the word that the child of a nymph and a mage is snooping around in this neigborhood, looking like the embodiment of a squirrel?‘ 

And there it was, the next aneurysm. 

He inhaled sharply. ‘How did you know?‘ 

Except his family and his roommate nobody should have known. There was no way this witch could know. 

‘Your aura is betraying you. I can see the sickish color of this abnormal connection.‘ 

So witches could see those kind of things in ones aura now. 

Sure. Alright. He would just go cry for a minute. 

Of course the one person he had to rob was super dangerous and had the ability to make his life hell on earth. He didn‘t even question it, that was just his luck. 

‘You wouldn‘t really do that‘, Jisung exclamated. That would ruin his whole life. Surely his counterpart would have enough decency to keep his mouth shut? 

The other shrugged. ‘No, I would definitely do that.‘ 

That would be his certain death. If there was any money to make, the word about it spread fast. And there were _lots_ of money to make with him. 

The majority of the magical world would be after him. They would try to find information about him and eventually capture him. Or worse. 

If it were just about him, that would have been no problem. No big one at least, he could have dealt with that. 

But that would also endanger Felix and that was a risk he didn't want to take. 

It wasn't looking good for him now, really. 

There were two ways he could get out of this. He could either not say anything and probably get himself and Felix killed. Or he could snitch and probably get himself and Felix killed. 

It didn't matter. He was screwed anyway. 

No, wait. 

There was a possibilty. 

He hadn't done this in ages, because it was dangerous and he despised it. But it was a way to get out of this unscathed. And it was very likely the only way.

His origin was his best kept secret and he intented on keeping it that way. 

Jisung's hand shot forward and grabbed the witch's wrist. 

He only saw the others shocked expression before it was dark again. 

He was standing on a gravel path, the wind blowing around him. 

At the border between Jisung's mind and the others he felt a barrier strong like a brick wall. He needed to get past it. He needed to get into his mind. 

He slid with his hand over the wall, seeking for a way in. But it was impenetrable. No cracks, no weak stones, nothing. 

In the background he could hear weird noises, almost like...screams or cries? He wasn't paying attention to it. He needed to concentrate on his task. 

If he got past the barrier he could search for the memories that he appeared in and delete them. 

Morally reprehensible, sure, but what other choice did he have? 

Jisung hurried alongside the wall, hoping for a weak spot he could exploit. 

A few seconds later he made out a few cracks that were filled in with moss. It looked like someone or something had damaged the barricade a long time ago and it had tried to mend itself back together. 

Jisung slammed his fists against the wall and felt it soften a bit. The background noise was now clearer. 

He could make it. 

If he pushed just a little bit more, maybe he could get inside of his mind. If he used a little bit more force... 

The barrier hardened again. The wind picked up until he had to lean against it in order to not be blown away. 

Out of nowhere he was pushed back by something. 

He first hit the tree and then landed on the ground in the park that was now lit again, his hands painfully catching the fall. 

The witch must have controlled body and mind at once and pushed him away with his own hands. Most people (Jisung included) weren‘t able to do that, It was quite a remarkable ability. He couldn‘t feel excitement about that though. 

Because now he really was fucked. 

The other was again towering above him, the delight in his features now almost gone. At least he didn‘t have to see that stupid grin of his this time.

‘You seriously thought you could break into my mind? After you already broke into my house? I hate to inform you, but you‘re very rude. Especially for a nymph.‘ He jabbed a finger into the air, only inches away from his face. 

Jisung rose to his feet quickly. 

‘Uh...Sorry?‘, he tried. He didn‘t want to irritate him further and risk actually getting killed. 

He had no other option. He had to accept. 

Because honestly, if it came to survival and keeping one‘s word he trusted a witch more than some humans. 

Humans and witches both were cunning, but humans did not shy away from betraying someone to reach their goal. In the past, they had shown that more than just once. 

So, now that he decided to give in to his captor, how should he act? He wanted him to think he was harmless. Well, as harmless as one could be as a memory deleting monster. 

He slumped together to seem smaller and threw up his hands nonthreateningly. 

‘Fine, I give up‘, he laced as much defeat and hopelessness into his voice as possible. That wasn‘t exactly hard, seeing as he was, well, defeated and hopeless. ‘You win.‘

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Listen up, this is not the end of the scene but i necessarily needed to cut the chapter because otherwise it would have gotten too long and it would have taken even longer to write.
> 
> Anyway, yayyy, we finally know what Jisung really is!  
And if anyone is wondering, the three daggers are a letter in the dagger language or whatever it's called. I googled it and it just means 'T' so I chose it for the Tanria coven.
> 
> Okay, so about the updating schedule in the future: the next chapter (which will be an explanatory one like 'Sirens' and 'Nymphs') will be up in approximately one week and the following chapter (which will contribute to the plot) will be up about three or four weeks after that.  
And that's probably gonna stay that way until the final examinations start (it's my final year at high school and I need to get good grades *sigh*). 
> 
> After that it's gonna be hell.
> 
> Alright, until next week, then, I hope you all are having a good day :)


	7. Witches

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey *waves*
> 
> Soooo, I know i wanted to update the next chapter a short time after chapter 6 but it took me way longer than that because a lot of stuff happened since then, namely we had important exams, I turned 17 and my cat died, so yeah it got kind of impossible to keep up the update schedule, sorry about that.
> 
> Information about the future update schedule will be in the notes at the end.
> 
> I hope you enjoy reading the chapter!

_The species of witches was the first supernatural species to be discovered by humans. They were afraid and started the witch trials during which lots of innocent people died._

_Because witches are very powerful they could hide and defend themselves very well, therefore none of them were caught at first._

_A few months later the species of mages emerged which is as powerful as the species of witches. Both species couldn‘t stand each other and the mages took the opportunity to dispose of their enemies. They offered the humans help to develop a technology with which it became possible to weaken, catch and kill witches._

_After that, they were decimated quickly and withdrew even more. They decided to live in covens in order to look out for each other and stand better chances._

_To this day witches and mages hate each other and not seldom there have been feuds that have cost the lives of whole covens and families._

_Witches cannot be made, they are normally born into witch families but there are also cases of witches born into human families. When this happens the child is usually given to the government, which pays a reward for every witch handed over._

_There has been set a bounty on witches and they have been declared illegal because the government is trying to develop a technology with which it will be possible to transfer and recreate witches‘ powers and therefore needs witches to experiment on._

_Following the pursuit of witches, many of them decided to not use magic anymore, which led to further decimation of the species._

_After the discovery of many more supernatural species humans started rating their power by knowledge about magic as well as access and immunity to magic, stamina and lifespan._

_According to this rating the species of witches is one of the most powerful species known to mankind._

_Witches possess a vast knowledge about magic which they have recorded for centuries in books and scrolls. They don‘t hold any magic in their bodies but can channel magic by making potions, summoning other beings or performing rituals that enable them to connect with magic. They need to fuel this magic with their stamina though, which is at a mediocre level and can be increased by potions._

_A witch who doesn‘t use their powers lives about 200 to 300 years, a witch who does about 800 years.  
Usually they are not immune to magic spells at all, but immunity can be achieved by potions._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I still haven‘t graduated, and I still have lots of important exams coming up, which means that I won‘t be able to write new chapters during that time. But in May I will be done with all of them except for an oral exam in July so starting from May I will post chapters again and plan on keeping up the schedule I had already planned. 
> 
> I won‘t abandon this fic, I love writing it and I love seeing how the storyline turns out and that there are people enjoying what i write.
> 
> Thank you all for reading, it means much to me :)

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading until the end, I appreciate it :)  
I'm warning you, further updates won't be anywhere near regular because I've only started writing and it is SO hard, I'm not lying. It would be very nice of you to comment on things (regarding my writing style or grammar as English isn't my first language) I could do better. I really want to get better at writing and show my stories to other people.


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